Fifty-eight counties in
California, including El Dorado
County, took part in a statewide “Healthy Stores” survey last year.
The survey, which examined the availability and
marketing of tobacco, alcohol
and
food products in stores that sell tobacco, was conducted
in
7,152 stores across the state; 121 of those stores
were in El Dorado County.
The California Department
of Public Health
released the results
of the statewide survey on March
8, 2017.

“The survey helps us learn
which products are sold
in local
stores, where those products are placed and
how
those products are marketed, particularly to young
people and families,” said Christy White, Supervisor of the El Dorado
County Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA)
Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP). The goal of the Healthy Stores project is to encourage healthy product options and marketing
in our community stores.

The survey was initiated
as
part of the Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community campaign, a statewide
collaborative effort
between tobacco prevention, nutrition education, alcohol
prevention and communicable
disease partners across the State.
Trained staff conducted the survey in El Dorado County in
March 2016. Surveyors went to gas stations,
pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores,
as
well as other
stores that sell tobacco products, and documented what they found.

The results of the
2016 survey showed that most El Dorado County merchants (about 80%) offered a good
selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, over half of the stores
surveyed in the County
offered sugary drinks at checkout stands (about 15% higher
than the statewide
average), and 71% of the stores surveyed
in El Dorado County offered electronic smoking devices
for sale (compared to the statewide average of 62%). According to White, an increase in
e-cigarettes among young people across the state has been
a concern
among health professionals and parents in
recent years.

“Stores in
our
communities play a
critical role in our health,”
said White. “They not only impact the economic
well-being of neighborhoods, but also the
physical health of the people who
visit them. We
hope the results
of the survey give
us
information to engage in
meaningful dialog with our community
members and
merchants to encourage healthy stores.”